France-Algeria co-production: the real cost of a 52-minute documentary

A documentary co-production between a French company and an Algerian one is usually described as a financial arrangement. It is first an arrangement of calendars.

The first gap comes from filming permits. The delay is not long, it is uncertain, and a crew standing still for three days costs the same as a crew shooting. Productions that hold their budget provision for waiting days instead of hoping there will be none.

The second is currency. A budget fixed in euros and spent partly in dinars over eighteen months carries a risk nobody hedges, because hedging is expensive at these amounts.

The third is post-production, almost always underestimated when it is split between two companies. Two gradings, two mixes and one conformity round trip cost more than post done in one place, and the first quote rarely assumes it.